THE ORIGIN OF VALENTINE’S DAY

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What is The Origin Of Valentine’s Day?

For this we have to go back to the Roman Empire, February 14, 269AD, when citizens were forced to worship the Roman gods, and “deified” emperors, by placing a pinch of incense on a burning fire before their statues.

Those who refused worship of the Roman gods were considered “politically incorrect” or “unpatriotic” enemies of the state and killed. Emperor Decian’s persecution specifically targeted Christians with legislation forcing them to deny their consciences or die.

During the first three centuries of Christianity, there were ten major persecutions in which the government threw Christians to the lions, boiled them alive, had their tongues cut out, and worse.

Roman soldiers would break into church meetings, catacombs, and homes, confiscating and destroying Christian writings, bibles, and church records. Because so many records were destroyed, details of Saint Valentine’s life are scant. Though several individuals may have had that name, it appears Saint Valentine was either a priest in Rome or a bishop in Terni, central Italy.

What little is known is mostly known from the works of Eusebius of Caesarea, compiled around 362 AD, and the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (Martyrology of Jerome), compiled around A.D. 460-544. Saint Valentine is mentioned in Legenda Sanctorum by Jacobus de Voragine in 1260 and in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle.

In the 3rd century, it was against the law to be married as a Roman soldier. Saint Valentine risked the Emperor’s wrath by standing up for traditional marriage and secretly marrying soldiers to their young brides. When Emperor Claudius also demanded that Christians deny their consciences and worship pagan idols, Saint Valentine refused.

He was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to die. While awaiting execution, his jailer, Asterius, asked Saint Valentine to pray for his blind daughter. When she miraculously regained her sight, the jailer converted and was baptized, along with many others.

This resulted in Saint Valentine being beaten with clubs and stones, and when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate on FEBRUARY 14, 269AD. Asterius, the jailer, and all the others who got converted were also put to death. Jesus said (Acts 1:8), “You shall be my witnesses.” The Greek word for “witness” is “martyr”. Many 3rd century people knew they would be martyred soon as they converted, and many were the same hour.

Right before Saint Valentine was executed, he wrote a note to the jailer’s daughter, signing it, “from your Valentine.”

In a “note” from Jesus He said (John 15:13), “Greater love has no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends.” And Paul wrote (Romans 5:7-8): “Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person… But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Jesus and Paul’s mandate, how it happened in history, and how it can today – read it in Jim’s book Christian Manifesto (Vol. 1) at:www.JimsBookstore.com

Jim McCotter is well aware that tribulation – persecution of Christians will escalate in the last days before Jesus returns. Those that will not take the Mark of the Beast will be martyred as the early Christians were. At the opening of the sixth seal (Revelation 6:9) John was shown the souls of the martyrs they had not been raised with bodies at that point in time. The good news is that shortly, after the blast of the trumpet at the seventh seal John sees the raised saints with bodies standing before the throne with palm branches in their hands praising God the Father and Jesus.

“ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” Revelation 6:9–10

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 7:9-12

WEF MEETING JAN 16 -20 IN DAVOS SWITZERLAND

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Well-known Jeff Brown of Brownstone Research writes “Every time a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting takes place, I’m always wondering what shenanigans, or what evil, this group of unelected officials will get up to next.” Jeff’s insights into the world of high-tech investing are unrivaled.

Jeff says I pay close attention because there are very powerful forces behind the WEF that have worked hard over the last couple of decades to reshape our world in their eyes – in ways that will ultimately benefit “them” and come at great costs to “us” and the things that are dear to our preferred way of life. Scanning through the list of presentations, one caught my eye: “Why We Need Battery Passports,” scheduled for January 18. This isn’t a new topic for the WEF, as it’s been discussed and in the works for years.

Plans like these provide cover for the “Great Reset” and the implementation of digital IDs that track everything we do. The battery passport is just one part of that, and an important part, as transportation is naturally a large driver for carbon emissions – both for EVs using electricity from fossil fuels and for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

Yes, the WEF’s plans for a digital ID are very real, and openly discussed. The plan is to monitor our telecommunications, our healthcare, our financial services, our food consumption, our travel, our buying decisions, our transportation, and even what we say on social media. 

This isn’t just a crazy idea. This is a plan that’s been in the works for more than a decade, and it’s nearing implementation in many countries. 

The WEF openly states that it’s inserted its graduates in powerful positions in countries around the world. Looking at the list of individuals who have been through the WEF reeducation program over the last 20 years should make anyone’s jaw drop.

I raise these issues for awareness of what the “master plan” looks like. It’s not magnanimous; it’s nefarious. And it’s a world that would feel claustrophobic to most of us who relish not only our own freedom, but the freedom of others, and who feel strongly that freedom is worth both living and dying for.”

What Jeff does not realize is that God has told us in the Bible exactly what will unfold as we approach Jesus’ return to this earth. What Jeff describes above is preparatory to the Antichrist introducing the Mark of the Beast. We are getting close to the appearance of the Antichrist and his false prophet.

“Also, it (False Prophet for the Antichrist) causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Revelation 13:16-17

You do not want to be one of those that takes the Mark of the Beast as you will be on earth during the time God pours out His wrath on an unrepentant world with the trumpet and bowl judgements for one year and 10 days.

“If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.“ Revelation 14:9-10

“So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.” Revelation 16:2

TIMING OF THE RAPTURE

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Sadly, the Left Behind books by Tim Le Haye and Jerry Jenkins and now this film adopt a Pretribulation rapture position which was not what the early church fathers taught nor is it what the Bible teaches.

The foundational text in the New Testament related to the specific timing of the Rapture can be found in Matthew 24:29-31. In this passage, Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms the general timeframe during which believers will be supernaturally gathered to meet Him in the air. It is “immediately after the tribulation of those days and supernatural celestial signs in the sky“.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:29-31

Paul tells us that the rapture does not take place until after the Antichrist is on the scene and claims to be God. This occurs halfway through the tribulation period so the Saints are still on earth at that time.

“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him: We ask you, brothers, not to be easily upset in mind or troubled, either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter as if from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s sanctuary, publicizing that he himself is God.”  2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

John tells us that at the fifth seal, he sees the souls of the martyrs under the altar crying out to God when will you judge and avenge our blood? At the fifth seal, the rapture has not occurred. This is at the fifth year of the last seven years of Daniel’s 70th week.

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:9-10

At the sixth seal, the supernatural celestial signs that Jesus spoke of appear in the sky and as well as “the great day of His wrath has come”.

“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth... Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone…calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 6:12, 15, 16-17

It is at the trumpet blast at the opening of the seventh seal that the rapture occurs and John sees the resurrected Saints clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands praising God the Father and Jesus.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10

God promises to protect us from the wrath of God, not the tribulation which He uses to purify His church prior to the Rapture.

Each of the seven churches in Revelation represents the church in each of the seven years. It is the church in the sixth year, the church of Philadelphia that is raptured

“Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name… Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” Revelation 3:8, 10-11

The people in the church in the seventh year, the church of Laodicea thought they were saved but were not. Note, Jesus still stands at the door and knocks so they had not taken the Mark of the Beast and still have the opportunity to repent and be saved.

“Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” Revelation 3:15-18

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

LIVING READY TO RULE AND REIGN WITH JESUS

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In the Millennium the Levites demoted from being priests will become the temple’s caretakers (Ezekiel 44:11, 14). The Levites must face the consequence of seeking idols instead of God (v. 10). The Levites became a stumbling block of iniquity to Israel, and so they must bear that shame. They shall not come near to God, for they are no longer priests (vv. 12–13). How one lives his or her life results in very real repercussions in the coming Millennial Kingdom.

“But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment. They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people, to minister to them… They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.” Ezekiel 44:9-11,13-14

Ezekiel 44:15–31 discloses the duties of the only Levites who are allowed to serve as priests in the Millennial Kingdom: the line of Zadok (cf. 1 Chronicles 6:1–8). In 1 Samuel 2:35 God declared that he would raise up for himself a faithful priest who would act according to his heart and soul. This priest, later confirmed as Zadok (2 Sam 8:17; 15:24–29), was to be rewarded with an enduring house as he walks before God’s anointed forever. God also promised Zadok’s ancestor, Phinehas, that his descendants would become a perpetual priesthood (Numbers 25:13).

The reinstitution of the priestly functions to the Zadokites fulfills God’s promises to their forefathers. When the rest of Israel went astray, the Zadok family priests remained faithful to their temple duties. They will be rewarded by continuing their faithful temple service, only this time they will be doing so directly before the Messiah in the Messianic Kingdom.

The Zadokites are charged with teaching the people the difference between the holy and profane, resulting in their ability to discern the clean from the unclean. The very regulations that the Zadokites will adhere to, allow them to serve as living examples of this kind of separation. They also teach by judging disputes according to God’s rules.

This should be a warning to us all. It is the reason why I have established a new website http://www.millennialkingdom.net. For those of you that have already taken a look at it you will have seen in the section ABOUT US I wrote the following.

WWW.MILLENNIALKINGDOM.NET is being established because God is more tightly focusing my task on earth concerning the mission, He had given me in 2014 to establish the website: www.livingeternal.net.

The mission of www.livingeternal.net is to get people to live in the reality that eternal life can be experienced now. Living with this focus is essential to prepare us to rule and reign with Jesus in the Millennium.

The mission of www.millennialkingdom is to prepare the church to rule and reign with Jesus in the Millennium.

UN DECLARES ISRAEL’S ESTABLISHMENT A CATASTROPHE

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Did you know the UN General Assembly voted to formally recognize “Nakba Day,” an annual memorial event characterizing the establishment of the State of Israel as a disaster? It was a major victory for pro-Palestinian activists.

The word “Nakba,” which means catastrophe in Arabic, has been used to describe the 1948 War of Independence that led to the creation of the Jewish State.

The UN resolution, which was sponsored by the Palestinian delegation to the UN, Egypt, Jordan, Senegal, Yemen and Tunisia, calls for the “commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, including by organizing a high-level event at the General Assembly Hall” on May 15th, 2023.

Both Egypt and Jordan have decades-old peace treaties with Israel, though tensions with Jordan have escalated in recent years.

It is telling that Israel’s so-called new “friends” in the Arab world, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan supported the anti-Israel resolution.

“Recently, the UN General Assembly passed a shameful resolution calling for an official event to commemorate the Palestinian ‘Nakba’ on the 75th Anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel,” wrote Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan. “By passing such an extreme and baseless resolution, the UN is only helping to perpetuate the conflict.”

“Try to imagine the international community commemorating your country’s Independence Day by calling it a disaster. What a disgrace,” Erdan added. “The Palestinians’ lies must no longer be accepted on the world stage, just as this body must stop allowing the Palestinians to continue pulling its strings. I urge you all to stop blindly supporting the Palestinians’ libels.”

90 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 30 voted against it, and 47 abstained. The majority of those countries that voted to formally recognize Nakba Day are Muslim Countries.

The following Scriptures tell us exactly what God is going to do to those nations in the not too distant future:

First God is going to judge all of those nations that want to destroy Israel. Jesus will destroy them at the battle of Armageddon.

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.” Joel 3:1-3

Jesus will refine one third of national Israel during this time of judgment. They will come to know Jesus as Messiah, possibly some through the ministry of the two witnesses and some when they see Him returning to earth with the Saints, but either way they will help to populate the Millennial Kingdom.

“In the whole land, declares the Lord ‘two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people, and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zechariah 13:8-9

Then Jesus will gather the Jews from all the lands where they have been scattered.

“Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 37:21-23

All of the nations of the world will acknowledge Jesus as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

“Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.
“Thus, says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 36:36-38

Note what happens when nations do not go up to Jerusalem to worship Jesus as King, the Lord of hosts.

“Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.! Zechariah 14:16-19

Please use this information to evangelise the lost. They need to know what will happen in the future. The proof the Bible is God’s Word is fulfilled prophecies. All of the prophecies of Jesus first coming were fulfilled and there are many more about His second coming like those above and these will be fulfilled.

SATANS MINIONS PERFORMED BOLDLY AND IT WAS APPLAUDED

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Dr Michael Brown was teaching hundreds of ministry school students at Christ for the Nations in Dallas on the topic of demons and deliverance. During the class, he stated that in the days ahead, he believes that satanic manifestations will become much more open and overt in our society. Rather than hiding himself in the culture, the devil will reveal himself more clearly. This was just before the Grammy Awards.

Sam Smith performs his “Unholy” glorifying Satan onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. 

Pfizer pharmaceutical company felt it fitting to sponsor performers Sam Smith, who claims to be non-binary, and Kim Petras, who claims to be transgender. These two gave the nation a Satan-themed performance of their song ‘Unholy,’ in which Petras performed inside a cage with drag queens dressed in devil costumes, while Smith gyrated in a costume with devil horns sticking out from a top hat.

“The entire ‘performance’ depicted a hellish scene with lots of darkness, blood red colors, and flames.”

So, you have: 1. the name of the song, “Unholy”; 2. both lead performers denying their biological realities, one of them wearing devil’s horns; 3. drag queens in devil costumes; 4. BDSM-related themes; 5. and the fires of Hell. I would say that is pretty clear!

Of course, we’ve been seeing this trend for years now.

One prominent example would be the rise of Drag Queens in our culture, some of them in overtly satanic attire, reading to toddlers in libraries, and performing at churches.

Another prominent example would be the “Shout Your Abortion” movement and the celebration of radical, pro-abortion legislation. This is in stark contrast to the old Bill Clinton adage that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.”

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a radical feminist group with the acronym WITCH, standing for the Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell. (I kid you not.) They certainly got their message across!

But most groups are not that overt (even if tongue in cheek), and gay activists learned decades ago that the in-your-face, “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it” approach was not working. Instead, gay strategists adopted a policy of presenting themselves to be exactly the same as the couple next door, just like you in every way, except gay. (This was laid out in the watershed 1989 book After the Ball: How America Will Conquer It’s Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90’s.)

So, from a strategic viewpoint, most groups wanting to bring about radical change to society do so in more covert, incremental ways rather than announcing, “We’re a terrorist conspiracy from Hell!”

These days, however, it’s as if Satan is coming out in full force, red tights and all — if not literally, then metaphorically. What else can be said of the performance of “Unholy” at the Grammy Awards this past Sunday night? As the Breitbart headline announced, “Non-Binary Pop Star Sam Smith Performs BDSM, Devil-Themed ‘Unholy’ at the Grammys.” How lovely!

But even that only told part of the story.

As explained in more detail by the American Family Association,

No wonder podcaster Liz Wheeler tweeted, “Don’t fight the culture wars, they say. Meanwhile demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan. I could throw up.”

Compared to some other past hits (whose lyrics are virtually unrepeatable in moral circles), the lyrics to “Unholy” are relatively tame. It is the overall message of the Grammy performance that shouts out its depravity loudly and clearly.

Similar to this is the announcement from The Satanic Temple that it is raising funds to provide “free religious [meaning Satanic] telehealth medication abortion care in New Mexico.”

But this could be good news for us as followers of Jesus. The greater the darkness, the clearer our light is seen. May it shine brightly in front of the whole world! And may we shine as lights without shame, without compromise, and without hypocrisy.

And don’t be surprised if, in the days ahead, in front of your very eyes, you witness scenes as if taken straight out of the Bible where, in broad daylight, visibly demonized people get set free in Jesus’ name — dramatically, gloriously, and in full public view.

Things are heating up.

(For a great “holy” version of “Unholy” by a contemporary Gospel artist, go here. It’s titled, “If Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ ‘Unholy’ were a Christian song by Beckah Shae.”)

Dr. Michael Brown(www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Revival Or We Die: A Great Awakening Is Our Only Hope. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

MORE END TIMES SIGNS

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American ‘after school Satan club’ begins

In America, an after-school program sponsored by The Satanic Temple is popping up around the nation. What irresponsible parent would allow their child to attend such things? June Everett, national director of the After School Satan Club,1 said the following in a TV interview:

“To us, Satan is a symbol … like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy … A symbol for standing up to tyrannical authority … We don’t believe in a supernatural Satan … we don’t talk about Satanism … we do not push it on the kids.

However, if they don’t talk about Satanism, then why the name? Everett stated Satan for her is a “symbol for standing up to tyrannical authority”. Ultimately, in her mind, this means the Creator of life (the arch nemesis of Satan) who is both concerned with children growing up (Matthew 18) with healthy boundaries, as well as children inside the womb (Psalm 139). See: Life: a gift from God

A Christian author, John Wilkinson, once famously stated: “One of the artifices of Satan is, to induce men to believe that he does not exist.” This quote highlights the danger of denying spiritual wickedness in high places leaving many young lives vulnerable to damage and deception.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

Satanists push to overturn US pro-life laws so they can enact ‘abortion ritual’

Satanist are pro-abortion and are now claiming exemption from pro-life laws in the US under the guise of their “religious abortion ritual”.4 Co-founder of The Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves—doing a great disservice to his given name, which means “bringer of light”—argues for their cause, saying with regards to their legal action, “We have to play the long game.”5 However, organisations with more innocuous-sounding names also don’t seem to have any qualms about murdering unborn children, for example:

Doctors with no limits (Doctors Without Borders & British Pregnancy Advisory Service)

Planned Parenthood selling baby parts

Planned Parenthood offers abortion gift cards for Christmas

DOING CHURCH RIGHT

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If you do church right, some of the unchurched will love you and some will hate you

This article by Michael Brown addresses the traditional church model but it applies to some degree to the House Church model. However, it is unlikely that a hostile pagan will ever want to attend a house church meeting.

Jesus Himself exhorted us, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Or, in the words of Peter, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12).

Let us be known for our good works, for our kindness and compassion, for helping the poor and the needy, for standing for righteousness, and for opposing injustice. By all means, let us live this out for the glory and honor of God and for the good of a hurting world.

But let us not deceive ourselves. The same world that hated Jesus will hate us also. The same humanity that chose darkness over the light in Jesus’ day will gravitate to the darkness today. Do not be deceived.

As Jesus said to His disciples, “Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. Students are to be like their teachers, and slaves are to be like their masters. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called even worse names!” (Matthew 10:24–25)

And this: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:18–20).

That means that some people will love us because they see our lives, because they are drawn to Jesus, and because they too have opened their hearts to Him. Others will hate us, repelled by our godly lives, turned off by our moral standards, and dead set against receiving Jesus as Lord. No matter how gracious we are, they will brand us as bigots and haters and worse.

On a practical level, that means that the young, drug-addicted, non-believing couple living together out of wedlock should feel welcomed and loved when they walk into one of our services. They should encounter people who have joy, who are thrilled to see new faces, and who treat them as if they were family.

At the same time, if the Gospel is being preached and the Holy Spirit is moving, at some point they will become conscious of their sin and will be called to repent and receive mercy and grace through the cross.

If they can continue to come week in and week out, never feeling uncomfortable, never feeling conviction, never encountering both the holiness of God and the love of God, then something is wrong with those meetings.

As Jesus also said, the Holy Spirit has come to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit will make us uneasy in our sin. The Holy Spirit will invade our hiding places. The Holy Spirit will reveal what is wrong so that we can be made right.

Again, on a practical level, that means that a gay couple attending our meetings should be greeted just like a couple living together out of wedlock — with love and grace and with hospitality. But if they continue to attend our gatherings, if we are preaching the Word, giving place to the Spirit in our worship, and living godly lives ourselves, they will recognize that God is not pleased with their union. They will be confronted with grace and truth and will have to decide how they will respond. Will it be with contrition and confession or with disobedience and defiance?

This reminds me of what an ex-gay Christian said when he was asked if you could be gay and Christian (meaning, practicing and/or affirming homosexuality and following Jesus at the same time). He responded, “Not for long!”

In light of this, I have to question what a pastor is teaching when a wealthy strip club owner could be a long time, tithing member of his church without either coming under church discipline or Holy Spirit conviction. Something very fundamental is wrong with this picture. (For the record, this is a real-life example. The church claimed to be a Bible-believing, evangelical congregation.)

So, let us do our best to have churches and communities that the unchurched will love, but not at the expense of speaking the truth, with both clarity and compassion. And let us remember that if we are true to Jesus, true to the Word, and true to the Spirit, some will love us and others will hate us. It is inevitable and unavoidable.

Article “If you do church right, some of the unchurched will love you and some will hate you” by Michael Bronw in Christian Post Wednesday, Feb. 8th, 2023.

SAVED OUT OF THE OCCULT TO SERVE CHRIST

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WOMAN WHO SERVED THE DEVIL FOR 25 YEARS WARNS ABOUT CONSEQUENCES OF OCCULT PRACTICES

Jenn Nizza has been a psychic for over two decades before abandoning the occult to follow Jesus Christ. Today, she is now speaking about her experiences and warning everyone about what demonic practices can do to one’s life.

“The gravity of my salvation is so heavy because Jesus saved me out of the occult,” she said in an interview. “I was directly serving the devil for 25 years of my life. At the age of 36, she cried out to Jesus for the first time and became a Christian. Suddenly, the darkness she was embroiled in was illuminated. She quit her job as a psychic, picked up her cross to follow Jesus — and hasn’t looked back. Nizza, author of the books “From Psychic to Saved” and “Out of the New Age and Into the Truth,” is now exposing the New Age, occultism, and paranormal deceptions through “The Ex-Psychic Saved Podcast.” This podcast is dedicated to warning all about the dangers of the occult. She will talk about many New Age topics, expose where psychics get their information, interact with compelling guests, and much more!

EX-SATANIST ENCOUNTERS JESUS CHRIST RIGHT BEFORE ALMOST TAKING HIS OWN LIFE

Ben Atkins grew up in a Christian yet chaotic household. They seem to look comfortable on the outside but beneath the facade was a lot of trauma and distress. Eventually, his parents’ faith began to fall apart leading him to turn away from his belief. He also had negative experiences with his church.

“It was a church that didn’t believe in the God at work today through anything other than the Bible, and so what I experienced in church just didn’t shine with life.”

In search of something that would fill his life, he turned to sex, drugs, alcohol, and other vices. He also began to dive into non-Christian meditation and other supernatural practices.

“All I can say is I had this deep craving in me to connect with my suffering and have it acknowledged,” he said. “And that’s what led me to explore some really dark ways of living.”

He started reading “The Satanic Bible,” the manifesto for modern-day Satanism and started practicing rituals written in it.

“I’d already been … doing certain rituals with friends to harness the power around me or within me or, or whatever,” he said. “I had friends who, I guess would say they were witches or whatever.”

Ben dove deeper into the dark abyss until he experienced being tormented by Satan.

“One morning … he was at the end of my bed and he said to me, ‘You’re gonna finish your [end of college] exams and then you’re gonna die,’” Ben recalled. “…I was seeing demons, and demons were, like, coming to me and entering me. I just became more and more depressed.”

He finally gave himself to the dark voices and started planning how to end his own life.

“It was at that point I started planning how to kill myself because I didn’t see a way out. I thought, ‘Well, either Satan’s gonna kill me, or I am. So I’d rather at least seize back one last bit of power.’”

It was at that moment that God saved his life. Ben has been invited to a Christian event by his sister’s friend, he went feeling angry as he saw people who loved God and were filled with joy. In the midst of that confusion and frustration, a man came up to him and started praying for him in tongues. During that prayer, he encountered Jesus Christ in a way he never did before!

“All the things I’d been up to in life, I was chasing highs and trying to feel lows, and that peace that I felt was higher than any high I’d ever felt.”

From that moment on, he turned away from Satanism and pursued a relationship with Jesus Christ. Today, he is now a pastor leading people to know Jesus Christ.

END TIMES SIGNS ABOUND

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A magnitude 7.8 earthquake kills up to 5,000 people across Turkey and Syria

The most powerful earthquake in nearly a century struck Turkey and Syria on Monday morning (afternoon AEDT), levelling buildings and causing tremors felt as far away as Greenland. It was quickly followed by a powerful 7.6 quake and dozens of after-shocks that wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a region filled with millions who have fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts.

What did Jesus tell us would be the signs prior to His second coming?

“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3

“There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences.” Luke 21:11

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Matthew 24:7

“A national mourning period has been declared for seven days. Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all our national and foreign representative offices,” Mr Erdogan said in a tweet.

The earthquake’s epicentre was 11 miles (17.6km) below ground between the cities of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep in southwest Turkey. It struck at 4.17am local time as many victims were asleep. For those whose houses and apartments were brought down immediately, there was little chance to escape.

Gaziantep has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the country in the past three decades, an economic hub of two million people for a developing region that has become home to millions of refugees from the war in nearby Syria.

There were fears about the quality of construction in the thousands of new apartment blocks built in the 1990s and early 2000s to host the new population. “Panic is everywhere and the number of victims is rising. So many buildings have collapsed,” Ahmed al-Mohammed, a Syrian living in the city, said.

After a major earthquake in Turkey in 1999 building standards improved, and the destruction in Gaziantep could have been worse. By contrast, in older cities across southern Turkey the situation was catastrophic. The government estimated that 3,400 buildings had been destroyed.

In Kahramanmaras, Iskenderun, Osmaniye, and Antakya – historic Antioch – whole neighborhoods were flattened. Deaths were reported more than 200 miles away in Diyarbakir, the main city of Kurdish southeast Turkey. Across the border in Syria, cities that had been pulverised by bombing in the civil war were partially levelled again.